Bush Called ‘Terrorist’ by Sister of Kidnap-Hostage

The sister of one of seven Americans still held in Lebanon today called Vice President George Bush a “terrorist” for refusing to rule out retaliation in the Middle East, and the captive’s father called President Reagan’s remarks during the final days of the TWA hostage crisis “stupid.”

“I feel like I’ve been mugged by the Administration,” Peggy Say, sister of kidnaped AP correspondent Terry Anderson, said in an interview on the “CBS Morning News.”

“If the word terrorist means striking terror into the hearts of people, then Vice President Bush is certainly a terrorist, because when he said that he would not make a commitment to not retaliate, he doesn’t know what that does to seven families.

“I am not at this point so much worried about the other terrorists killing my brother and the six as I am about my own government doing the job,” she said.

Critical of Reagan

Say also said Reagan “should have had the courage” to call the families of the remaining hostages. “He was watching (the movie) ‘Rambo.’ That’s an indication of the kind of compassion that has been extended to seven families,” she said.

Reagan indicated Sunday that he had seen “Rambo,” about a Vietnam veteran’s one-man war to free American POWs, and joked that after seeing the violence-packed movie, he knew what to do if Americans are taken hostage again.

Anderson’s father, Glenn, said on ABC’s “Good Morning America” that Reagan’s “outburst the other night was one of the stupidest things.”

Reagan denounced the hostages’ captors in remarks in Chicago on Friday as “thugs, murderers and barbarians,” upsetting Amal leader Nabih Berri enough to delay the agreed-on release of the 39 TWA hijack hostages for 24 hours over the weekend.

Fear for Their Safety

Anderson expressed concern that the remaining hostages were endangered by the threat of U.S. retaliation.

“I feel if there’s any retaliation now, our seven men are gone and any talk, any talk of it should not be taking place now while they’re still holding some of our men,” he said.